Is Top Gun 3 taking too long to come out? Well, you’re in luck with Apple TV’s Mayday, which released in September and is the next best thing. With strong performances from Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh, as well as a heartfelt message revolving around friendship, Mayday is one of the best films of the year.
Mayday follows Reynolds’ Troy “Assassin” Kelly, a pilot who is gunned down over Russia while on a top secret mission. Wounded in action, Branagh’s Nikolai “Nick” Ustinov takes him in. In their first scene together, there are allusions and homages to iconic American films. When Troy first wakes up, eerily chained to a bed, it invokes the 1990 thriller Misery. Meanwhile, Nick is a huge fan of all things USA, including Bruce Springsteen and the OG Top Gun (the film takes place in 1987). It is revealed that Nick yearns for asylum in the US as a former KGB agent. Troy agrees to help if Nick can help him escape Russia and get back to the US.
What follows is a film that perfectly mixes humor with heart. Reynolds, of course, is most well known for Deadpool, and though many of his films can feel repetitive, there are layers to this performance. While much of his humor comes from wise-cracking, sarcastic, motor-mouthed dialogue covering up his characters’ deeper insecurities, there’s a real sincerity running underneath. As for Branagh, I’m most familiar with his Oscar-nominated directing work including Belfast and Henry V, but his chemistry with Reynolds here is pitch-perfect. Much like Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill in the Jump Street franchise, Troy and Nick seem different on the outset, but end up forming a genuine bond.
Mayday also eschews some general cliches that can be grating in action-comedies. There’s no romance as a side-plot, no girl that gets kidnapped by the bad guy whom the protagonist has to save. Instead, Troy wants to get back to the US to help his cancer-stricken father. Furthermore, although Mayday is set in the ‘80s, it touches on modern-day topics such as immigration, healthcare, and LGBTQ+ rights.
My complaints for this film are few and far between. Maria Bakalova is underutilized as Nick’s daughter, and the climatic action scene towards the end of the movie seems just a little-over-the-top as compared to the rest of the film.
Overall, Mayday is an excellent action comedy and one of the best films I’ve seen this year. It’s honestly baffling that it wasn’t released in theaters. The movie effortlessly blends fast-paced action with laugh out loud jokes, such as Troy’s backstory on how he got the nickname “Assassin” and a great visual gag with a scary child. Mayday takes flight and lands the plane with ease. It surely gets its wings (and maybe a sequel? One can hope!)
Mayday is now available to stream on Apple TV.
Apple TV via YouTube
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